– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

...

>> IN TWO WEEKS, THE FEDERAL

GOVERNMENT IS SCHEDULED TO RUN

OUT OF MONEY. ONCE AGAIN,

CONGRESS IS IN A STANDSTILL OVER

A BUDGET DEAL. FOR TONIGHT'S

INTERVIEW, WE TURN TO DAVID

WESSEL, A SENIOR FELLOW IN

ECONOMIC STUDIES AT THE

BROOKINGS INSTITUTION. DAVID,

IT'S GOOD TO BE WITH YOU AGAIN.

REMIND US BRIEFLY AGAIN WHY

WE'RE AT THIS PASS IN THE

BUDGETING PROCESS WELL, A

QUARTER OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET

REQUIRES APPROVAL OF CONGRESS

EVERY YEAR.

>> THAT'S THE MONEY THAT PAYS

SALARIES, PAYS ELECTRICITY, BUYS

BULLETS FOR SOLDIERS, BUYS

PAPERCLIPS FOR BUREAUCRATS. 75%

OF THE BUDGET IS ON AUTOPILOT.

INTEREST PAYMENTS, SOCIAL

SECURITY AND MEDICARE. CONGRESS

HAS FAILED TO PASS APPROPRIATION

BILLS FOR THE FULL FISCAL YEAR

BEFORE THE DEADLINE. EVERY YEAR

SINCE 1996. SO THE SYSTEM HAS

BEEN DECAYING OVER TIME, BUT NOW

IT'S REALLY BROKEN ENTIRELY,

LARGELY BECAUSE OF PARTIZAN

DIFFERENCES.

>> SO WHAT ARE THE STAKES IN

THIS? PARTICULAR YOU MENTIONED,

IT'S THAT SLIVER OF THE BUDGET.

ARE THE STAKES ANY DIFFERENT

THAN ALL OF THOSE PREVIOUS TIMES

YOU JUST ALLUDED TO?

>> WELL, YES AND NO. ONE THING

THAT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME IS

THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE VERY

LITTLE INTEREST ON THE PART OF

THE LEADERS OF CONGRESS IN

COMING TO A CONSENSUS. THE

REPUBLICANS WANT AND HAVE

PROPOSED IN THE HOUSE A BILL

THAT ESSENTIALLY EXTEND

GOVERNMENT FUNDING THROUGH

NOVEMBER 21st AT LAST YEAR'S

LEVELS. THE DEMOCRATS HAVE

DECIDED IT'S TIME FOR A FIGHT.

AND THEY'RE SAYING WE'RE NOT

GOING TO SUPPORT THIS UNLESS THE

REPUBLICANS AGREE TO RESTORE

SOME OF THE SPENDING CUTS TO

MEDICAID AND IMPORTANTLY, EXTEND

THE SUBSIDIES FOR PREMIUMS THAT

PEOPLE PAY UNDER THE AFFORDABLE

CARE ACT. AND THAT'S WHAT THE

STANDOFF IS RIGHT NOW. IT TAKES

60 VOTES IN THE SENATE TO GET AN

APPROPRIATIONS BILL THROUGH. THE

REPUBLICANS CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT

DEMOCRATS.

>> AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE

POLITICS HERE, THAT WOULD

INCLUDE POSSIBLY HAVING A

SHUTDOWN AND TRYING TO PIN THE

BLAME, ON REPUBLICANS FOR NOT

FUNDING THOSE TWO THINGS.

>> I THINK THE CHANCES OF A

SHUTDOWN ON SEPTEMBER 30th ARE

VERY HIGH. THE THE WHITE HOUSE

AND REPUBLICANS WILL BLAME

DEMOCRATS. DEMOCRATS WILL BLAME

REPUBLICANS. THE DEMOCRATS SEEM

TO HAVE DECIDED THAT THEY NEED

FOR CERTAINLY FOR THEIR BASE TO

SHOW THEY'RE STANDING UP TO

PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE

REPUBLICANS. SO THEY SEEM TO BE

DETERMINED TO FORCE A SHUTDOWN.

BUT THIS COULD BE A BARGAINING

POSITION IF SENATE REPUBLICANS

AGREE TO RESTORE SOME OF THESE

MEDICAID SPENDING CUTS OR EXTEND

THE PREMIUM SUBSIDIES FOR THE

AFFORDABLE CARE ACT. THIS COULD

GET RESOLVED. I THINK IT WILL

PROBABLY TAKE A SHUTDOWN BEFORE

THAT. ACTUALLY HAPPENS.

>> CHARACTERIZE, IF YOU WOULD,

FOR US, DAVID. THE WHITE HOUSE

POSITION ON BUDGETING AS THEY

ENGAGE FROM THE SIDELINES, AT

LEAST FOR THE MOMENT IN THIS

BUDGET FIGHT.

>> SO ONE THING THAT MAKES THIS

ADMINISTRATION VERY DIFFERENT

THAN OTHERS IS THAT IT HAS SAID

THAT WHEN CONGRESS PASSES AN

APPROPRIATION BILL THAT'S A

CEILING ON WHAT THE GOVERNMENT

NEEDS TO SPEND, NOT A FLOOR.

THIS IS KNOWN IN WASHINGTON AS

THE POWER OF THE PURSE. THE

WHITE HOUSE, PARTICULARLY THE

BUDGET DIRECTOR, RUSSELL VOUGHT,

HAVE EXERCISED UNUSUAL AUTHORITY

TO TRY AND NOT SPEND WHAT

CONGRESS HAS APPROPRIATED. AND

THAT'S REALLY UNDERLYING THIS

WHOLE DISPUTE.

>> AND ARE DEMOCRATS TRYING TO

GET INTO THAT FIGHT? WE HAVE

ABOUT 20s LEFT IN TERMS OF THAT

BUDGETING AUTHORITY. WHO HAS IT?

>> I THINK THEY WANT TO GET INTO

THAT FIGHT, BUT THEY THINK THAT

HEALTH IS A BETTER POLITICAL

ISSUE. MY GUESS IS THEY'LL MAKE

HEALTH THE ISSUE THIS TIME. AND

IF WE

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
budget /ˈbʌdʒ.ɪt/ A2	noun - an estimate of income and expenditure for a set period of time
congress /ˈkɒŋ.ɡres/ B1	noun - the group of people elected to make decisions in a country or region
government /ˈɡʌv.ən.mənt/ A2	noun - the group of people who officially control a country
shutdown /ˈʃʌt.daʊn/ C1	noun - a situation when a company, organization, or service stops its operations
funding /ˈfʌn.dɪŋ/ B2	noun - money provided for an event, activity, or organization
appropriations /əˌproʊ.priˈeɪ.ʃənz/ C2	noun - the act of taking something for your own use, especially illegally; or funds set aside for a specific purpose
partisan /ˌpɑːr.tɪˈzæn/ C1	adjective - strongly supporting a particular person, group, or idea
medicaid /ˈmɛd.ɪ.keɪd/ C1	noun - a US government program that gives money to help low-income people pay for medical treatment
subsidies /ˈsʌb.sɪ.diz/ B2	noun - money that is paid usually by a government to keep prices low or to help a business or activity
premiums /ˈpriː.mi.əmz/ C1	noun - the amount of money that you pay regularly to an insurance company for insurance coverage
affordable /əˈfɔːr.də.bəl/ B2	adjective - cheap enough to be paid for easily
consensus /kənˈsɛn.səs/ C1	noun - a general agreement about something
propose /prəˈpoʊz/ B2	verb - to offer or suggest a plan, idea, etc.
extend /ɪkˈstɛnd/ B2	verb - to make something last longer
blame /bleɪm/ B1	verb - to think or say that someone or something is responsible for something bad noun - responsibility for a fault or difficulty
fiscal /ˈfɪs.kəl/ C1	adjective - relating to money and financial matters, especially government taxes, debts, and so on
authority /əˈθɔːr.ə.ti/ B2	noun - the power to give orders to people and control the way they behave, or to make official decisions
decaying /dɪˈkeɪ.ɪŋ/ C1	adjective - becoming worse in quality or condition